Labor reveals new plan for Australians to get a $1m home with a 2 per cent deposit
Labor has revealed an expansion of its major housing policy and more money for prefabricated homes ahead of the federal budget.
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Australian single parents and couples earning up to $160,000 will be able to buy million dollar homes in Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra with a 2 per cent deposit in an expansion of the Albanese government’s signature housing policy.
Labor will use its upcoming federal budget, being unveiled on March 25, to boost its credentials on housing.
The government will attempt to hose down criticism that its Help to Buy scheme only supports a very small section of first home buyers with most metropolitan homes out of reach of buyers as it heads to a federal election due by May 17.
Until now, the shared equity scheme was eligible to singles earning up to $90,000 and couples or households earning up to a combined $120,000.
The expansion will now bump the income threshold to $100,000 for singles and $160,000 for combined incomes and single parents.
It will also boost the maximum price of a home eligible to participants in Sydney from $950,000 to $1.3m.
In Melbourne, the price cap will jump from $850,000 to $950,000 while in Brisbane or the Gold Coast it would go from $700,000 to $1m.
There were also increases in price caps in rural areas with the cap in regional Queensland going up from $550,000 to $700,000 and in regional Western Australia from $450,000 to $600,000.
Those who qualify are able to get the government to contribute 40 per cent to the price of a new home or 30 per cent for an existing home with a minimum deposit of just 2 per cent.
When the home is sold, the government gets its share back in full.
The Greens had argued the narrow scope of the scheme would lock out the majority of first home buyers.
Housing Minister Clare O’Neil said voters must remember that the Coalition intends to cut the government’s Help to Buy scheme.
“I’ve got a pretty straightforward goal here – to make sure that ordinary, working class Australians can buy a home of their own,” she said.
“That’s why we’re expanding Help to Buy so that most first home buyers are eligible.”
As part of its latest housing commitments in the pre-election budget, more money will also be splashed on faster and cheaper flatpack houses that can be built in a factory and carried on the back of a truck.
The money would mean more homes can be built faster and for a cheaper cost offsite before being assembled at the desired location.
Another $4m will go to creating a new national certification process for offsite building.
Industry Minister Ed Husic said the $54m boost for prefabricated homes would help solve Australia’s regional housing
“We need to build more quality homes quickly – and help make great manufacturing jobs along the way,” he said.
“Making a house in a factory instead of onsite can cut construction time in half.
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Originally published as Labor reveals new plan for Australians to get a $1m home with a 2 per cent deposit
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